Chapter 1055: Self Destruction

When I said there is no need to worry about President Son Hyung-Tae, President Shin Jong-Ki looked at me curiously and urged me to continue.

"What exactly did you do to President Son?"

I smiled and began explaining the time bomb I had planted in Son Hyung-Tae's mind. "President Son will have no choice but to raise ticket prices to cover up his mistake of giving LT 10% of Missing – The Lost Ones profits. He won't even realize he's pressing the self-destruct button."

Last May, CK Entertainment had, for the first time, lost its title as the number one film distributor to LT Entertainment. Now even CK Cinema, CK Entertainment's theater subsidiary, was on the verge of losing the number one spot to LT Cinema. As a result, Son Hyung-Tae had already fallen out of favor with Honorary Chairman Son Dae-In of the CK Inc. Losing another 10% of a film's revenue to LT alone would almost certainly earn him another severe reprimand for letting LT outmaneuver them again.

So from Son Hyung-Tae's perspective, he had to raise ticket prices and inflate the theater's revenue to make the issue look insignificant. Just as he had before the regression, when CK Entertainment's failed investments had caused mounting losses and he had tried to make up for them by increasing CK Cinema's ticket prices. And just like before the regression, that plan would fail miserably.

If ticket prices, which had already reached their limit, went up again, some people would simply stop going to the movies out of resentment, causing overall revenue to fall. In other words, Son Hyung-Tae would lose both public support and money. On top of that, he would also lose Son Dae-In's trust.

After listening to my explanation, Shin Jong-Ki nodded. "You're right. Ticket prices are already at their limit. If they raise them any further, the backlash will be enormous."

"Yes. As a result, overall revenue will decline. And when that happens, Honorary President Son Dae-In certainly won't let it slide."

Shin Jong-Ki broke into a broad grin. "Well, well. Chief Jung, you've planted quite the bomb."

"You're giving me too much credit."

"No, I mean it. 10% of one movie's net profit is only worth a few billion won. But if that can take down President Son Hyung-Tae, it's more than worth the price. I was right to leave this in your hands. Absolutely right. Hahaha."

Shin Jong-Ki laughed for quite a while. When he finally stopped, he turned to Managing Director Lee Eun-Joo. "Managing Director Lee. You know what we need to do now, don't you?"

"Yes, Mr. Shin. We'll move in the exact opposite direction from CK Cinema."

"That's right. If they eliminate ticket discounts, we'll increase ours dramatically. If they cut back on reward points, we'll flood customers with them!"

"Yes, sir."

The two of them went back and forth discussing their response. These were the same two people who had brought LT Cinema this far even before I joined them, so I felt there was little left for me to worry about.

Tick.

Tick.

The timer on the time bomb I had planted in Son Hyung-Tae's mind began counting down even faster.

***

It was 7:00 p.m. on a Saturday, and I was currently at LT Cinema Samseong Station Branch. Missing – The Lost Ones was still completely sold out, and Miso was there helping guests print their tickets.

Wearing a pink cap with white wings on each side, a white T-shirt, and bright red suspenders, Miso stood beside Ticket Kiosk No. 4 and called out, "Please line up! Line uuup~"

While Miso shouted through her pink plastic cone, I used the information an elderly customer gave me to print her tickets and handed them to Miso.

"Miso, Auditorium 2, Row 3, Seat 1F."

After taking the tickets, Miso handed them to the elderly woman, who had come with her granddaughter. "Stylish Grandma, you'll want Auditorium 2."

"Oh, thank you, dear. But where's Auditorium 2?"

The elderly woman looked around helplessly, and Miso rose onto her tiptoes and pointed toward Auditorium 2 in the distance. "Riiight over there! Just go up those stairs."

"Thank you, dear."

"It's nothing. I'm the one who's grateful. You came to see my movie."

The elderly woman smiled warmly and gently clasped Miso's hand. "I've been watching your drama too, Miso. I'll keep cheering for you."

"Thank you so much!"

Miso pressed her hands together and gave a deep bow. Then the grandmother and granddaughter posed with Miso for a picture.

The elderly woman handed me her phone, and I took a photo of the three of them. "Say Cheese~."

Click.

Afterward, Miso returned to the ticket kiosk and continued helping customers.

The problem was, the line showed no signs of getting any shorter. The ticket kiosks were mostly used by elderly customers, but even people in their twenties and thirties, who could have used mobile tickets, were lining up as well. Meanwhile, the kiosk right next to it sat completely empty.

"You can print your tickets over here too."

"This way, please."

"Excuse me?"

"Can't you see this one's available?"

The attendants at the neighboring kiosk desperately called out. Unfortunately for them, everyone treated them as if they were completely invisible. In the end, even when it was time for the movie to begin, the line in front of Miso still hadn't cleared.

"Missing – The Lost Ones in Auditorium 2 is now opening."

Only then did the disappointed moviegoers reluctantly disperse, and the line in front of Miso quickly shrank. After helping the last of the elderly customers print their tickets, we finally had a chance to catch our breath.

"Miso, let's go to the break room and rest."

"Okay."

People who had come to watch other movies were also approaching Miso, so after apologizing to them, I led her to the break room.

Click.

As soon as we stepped inside, Miso leaned back against the sofa, took off her hat, and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Phew..."

After helping customers print tickets nonstop from morning until evening, she was clearly starting to look tired.

"Miso, are you okay? Should we head home?" I asked.

Miso shook her head vigorously and flexed her barely noticeable biceps with exaggerated confidence. "Nope. I'm still full of energy. I'm staying here until tonight!"

She insisted she was fine, but judging by how she looked, she would probably collapse in another two hours. When that happened, I would carry her home on my back.

"All right."

Just then, the break room door burst open, and Lee Eun-Joo rushed inside.

Bang!

"Mr. Jung! President Son has gone completely off the rails. Look at this."

Lee Eun-Joo held out a tablet. A top community post was displayed on the screen.

[(Trending) CK Cinema abruptly changes its pricing with the release of Missing – The Lost Ones!]

(Comments)

-Seriously, what is CK Cinema doing? They completely got rid of the early-morning discount? I came early to save a little money.

-They also raised weekend ticket prices by another 5%.

-CK Cinema was already a thousand won more expensive than LT Cinema, and now it's two thousand won more.

-Unbelievable. I'm cashing out all my points and switching to LT Cinema. They've gotten way too comfortable taking customers for granted.

-CK Cinema is closest to my house, so I booked without thinking. I'm canceling and switching to LT Cinema. Screw this.

-FYI, if you sign up for LT Cinema right now, they're giving out bonus reward points.

-LT Cinema is currently running the With Stars event. If you take a photo with one of the actors helping at the ticket kiosks, you get one free movie ticket. Such a great deal.

-Miso is helping with ticketing today at LT Cinema's Samseong Station Branch. She'll be there until 10 p.m.

-Lee Tae-Poong is at LT Cinema Gangnam.

-Haru is at LT Cinema Apgujeong.

...

Just as I had expected, Son Hyung-Tae raised ticket prices without warning to make up for the 10% of profits lost from Missing – The Lost Ones. The fallout, however, was even greater than I had anticipated. CK Cinema's loyal customers, who had patiently waited an entire extra week for Missing – The Lost Ones to open, declared a mass boycott. Communities and social media exploded with outrage.

"He really did press the self-destruct button."

"He did, just like you predicted, Mr. Jung. Oh, and while we're at it, we're planning to launch a status transfer event."

"A status transfer event?"

"We'll match CK Cinema's highest SVIP membership to LT Cinema's Platinum membership, and customers at every other tier can transfer without losing their benefits. The only condition is that they have to maintain their membership with us for the next three months."

"That'll pull away a huge number of their loyal customers. Impressive."

"We're just adding one little spoon to the table you already set, Mr. Jung."

I grinned before teasing Miso. "If Miso works just a little harder, I bet even more people will come over."

Miso immediately put her winged cap back on and sprang to her feet. "Then let's go! Hurry!"

Excited, she grabbed my hand and tried to pull me up.

"R-right now?"

That was my mistake. I had completely forgotten how quickly children recovered.

'At this rate, I'll collapse before Miso does.'

My legs were still aching from standing beside her greeting customers since morning, but after saying that, there was no backing out.

"Come on, Uncle Yoon-Ho! Hurry!"

"O-Okay."

Dragged along by Miso, I headed back out and spent the rest of the night standing beside her, endlessly calling out to customers who wanted photos.

"Say Cheese~."

***

Monday morning came.

In CK Entertainment president's office, Son Hyung-Tae stared at the weekend sales report displayed on the office screen and shouted, "What the hell is this? Why did weekend sales plummet?"

Every seat for Missing – The Lost Ones had sold out. However, reservations for every other movie had dropped by a staggering 20%. As a result, total weekend revenue had fallen sharply compared to normal. And for the first time in CK Cinema's history, LT Cinema had overtaken it in revenue.

Standing beside him, Secretary Choi Sung-Hee carefully gave her report. "It seems to be because of the boycott against CK Cinema..."

"They stopped watching movies just because we raised prices 5%? What are they, a bunch of broke idiots?"

Son Hyung-Tae cursed as he insulted the very loyal customers who had supported his theaters.

"On top of that, LT Cinema has been running all kinds of promotional events..."

"Hey. Then we can run events too, can't we? What the hell has our marketing team been doing if this is the best excuse they've got?"

Choi Sung-Hee lowered her head uneasily.

'Damn it. What does he actually want us to do?'

Ever since returning from LT Cinema, Son Hyung-Tae had done nothing but shout, "Increase profits however you can and cut costs." With orders to boost short-term profits, the marketing department had no choice but to focus only on promotions that cost little or nothing. Meanwhile, LT Cinema's Lee Eun-Joo, Shin Jong-Ki's right-hand woman, had full authority to launch large-scale promotional campaigns. There was simply no comparison.

"More importantly, we need to resolve this quickly. If we don't, Mr. Son Dae-In's wrath will..."

Just then, Son Hyung-Tae's phone began to ring.

Buzz.

[Caller ID: Honorary Chairman Son Dae-In]

"Wh-What should I do?"

Click.

The call ended. A moment later, Choi Sung-Hee's phone rang this time.

Buzz.

It was a video call from Son Dae-In.

"Mr. Chairman is calling me."

"This is driving me crazy. Just answer it."

Choi Sung-Hee nodded and accepted the call. "Mr. Chairman, this is Secretary Choi."

-I know that. Is Hyung-Tae there? Why isn't he answering his phone?

"He was just about to answer on his own phone."

-Forget it. Turn the camera around.

Holding the phone with both hands, Choi Sung-Hee turned the screen toward Son Hyung-Tae. Tense, Son Hyung-Tae stared at the display. Son Dae-In's face was filled with rage.

-Hyung-Tae, you've really made up your mind to ruin this company.

Son Dae-In's anger was so intense that his cheeks visibly trembled.

"Mr. Chairman, I can explain..."

-I don't want excuses. You took a company that had never once lost first place and turned it into second. I refuse to sit here and watch LT Cinema humiliate us again and again. You're not fit for that position. Step down immediately!

Thud.

It felt as though a bomb had exploded inside his head. His vision swam, and his hands and feet began trembling uncontrollably. This wasn't just about removing him as President of CK Entertainment. It meant he was being cast aside in the race to succeed the CK Inc. as well.

Thump. Thump.

His chest tightened until he could barely breathe. Overcome by the instinctive certainty that everything would end if he did nothing, Son Hyung-Tae dropped to his knees and desperately pleaded.

"Please. Just give me one more chance. Just one. Give me three months... no, even two months, and I'll completely crush those bastards at LT Entertainment and take back first place."

Son Dae-In glared at his son, still seething with anger. Yet no matter how disappointing he was, he was still his son. Finally, after breathing heavily through his anger, he spoke.

-One month. If you haven't restored both the distribution and theater divisions to first place within one month, you'll lose not only CK Entertainment but your position as my successor as well. Understood?

The declaration struck like a bolt from the blue, but refusing wasn't an option. If he didn't accept, he would lose everything immediately.

"Yes. I give you my word."

-And restore the ticket prices immediately! Say it was a mistake, and make someone take the fall by forcing them to resign. Understood?

"Yes, sir."

-Useless fool.

Click.

The video call ended.

Slowly, Son Hyung-Tae collapsed sideways onto the sofa beside him, clutching it as he gasped for breath. His remaining time as president of CK Entertainment had just been reduced to a single month.

***

[LT Cinema Sets an All-Time Weekend Attendance Record as Crowds Flood Theaters!]

[LT Entertainment and LT Cinema Simultaneously Take the No. 1 Spot in Film Distribution and Theater Operations]

[CK Entertainment, Now in Second Place, Says It Will Not Overreact to a Temporary Setback]

[LT Entertainment's President Shin Jong-Ki Rises to No. 1 Through Bold Investments and Exceptional Judgment in Selecting Projects]

[CK Entertainment: Weekend Ticket Pricing Error Confirmed—Customers Who Overpaid Will Receive Double Refunds (Vice President Lee In-Cheol Issues Emergency Public Apology)]

[Missing – The Lost Ones Surpasses 4 Million Moviegoers in Its Second Week]

I was currently in Division Jung's weekly meeting.

The meeting room's LCD screen displayed the major events from the weekend. The biggest headline, without question, was LT Cinema surpassing CK Cinema's revenue for the first time in its history.

And Son Hyung-Tae had spectacularly self-destructed after embracing the bomb I had thrown his way. Although Son Hyung-Tae belatedly tried to contain the damage by issuing refunds and taking other corrective measures, the public's anger showed no signs of fading.

Just then, Do Ran-Hee excitedly announced that Miso had been flooded with advertising offers over the weekend. "Mr. Jung! Miso's gotten practically every commercial offer in Korea. At this point, I think we should stop charging child actor rates and raise her fee to the level of an adult star."

Miso now had three consecutive hits: the daily drama Land of Happiness, the weekend drama Haze, and the movie Missing – The Lost Ones. As a result, it seemed every Korean company wanted her in their advertisements.

"How much are they offering?" I asked.

"Most offers are between 50 million won and 100 million won, but I think we should raise her fee to 300 million won."

"Let's think about it a little longer."

If a child actor raised their endorsement fee too aggressively, they could attract far harsher criticism than an adult actor.

"Okay. Oh, right! We also got a proposal to make Miso into a character doll. They said the screenshots of her wearing the angel hat and suspenders are unbelievably cute. What should we do about that?"

I never imagined someone would actually want to make a Miso doll.

"Don't you think that's a little much?"

Do Ran-Hee's eyes turned into hearts as she beamed. "Why? I love the idea."

Thinking someone needed to stop her, I was about to ask her boyfriend, Lee Yung-Jin, to intervene. Instead, he was just as excited, though for a completely different reason.

"Hoop Entertainment's stock price just broke two hundred thousand won! Our market cap is now 1.27 trillion!"

It was no wonder why everyone in Integrated Division 4 had been in such a great mood since morning. Their employee stock ownership plans must have become a lot more valuable.

At that moment, I became curious about how much my own assets were worth. I currently owned 13.5% of Hoop Entertainment. That alone was worth roughly 171 billion won. Then there was my 10% stake in Daecheon Media, worth about 500 billion won.

I also owned 3% of Jinseong Hotel & Resort, whose market capitalization stood at 2 trillion won, making my stake worth roughly 60 billion won. My 3% share of Yetterang was worth around 18 billion won. And after taxes, I had a little over 2 billion won in cash sitting in my bank account.

Altogether, my assets totaled roughly 751 billion won.

'Good grief... Why do I have so much money...?'

Before the regression, my entire net worth—including real estate, stocks, and savings—had been around 30 billion won. Back then, I had never given money much thought. Now I had more than twenty times that amount. The scary part was that this wasn't even the end.

'Both Yetterang and Hoop Entertainment are only going to keep growing...'

At this rate, my personal fortune might actually exceed 1 trillion won someday. The thought was so absurd that I couldn't help laughing.

The staff misunderstood my reaction and immediately started teasing me.

"So even Mr. Jung gets overwhelmed sometimes."

"Well, his gains are several times bigger than ours."

"Mr. Jung, tell us what it's like to have over 100 billion won!"

If I corrected them and said it was over 800 billion won, they would probably faint.

So I casually brushed it off. "It's not bad."

"Boo~~"

Everyone booed playfully. Moments like this had an easy solution.

I offered, "Company dinner tonight?"

"Wooooo!"

The room erupted in cheers.

Just then, Lee Yung-Jin stopped celebrating and spoke up. "Oh, Mr. Jung. TK Entertainment's market cap has climbed again to 1.4 trillion won. Hoop Entertainment still hasn't managed to take first place in the industry."

"Let's not worry about it. We'll catch up soon enough."

"I hope so too, but I think TK Entertainment's stock jumped because they've officially partnered with Jinseong Inc."

"What? Jinseong and TK?"

Jinseong Foods and Jinseong Hotel & Resort had been working closely with me. IOA had even filmed one of its programs at Jinseong Hotel & Resort in Yeongjongdo. So I couldn't understand why Jinseong Inc. would choose to partner with TK Entertainment instead of Hoop Entertainment.

"Hold on. Let me check."

Wanting to know exactly what was happening, I immediately called Acting President Jin Ah-Ram.

"Ms. Jin, are you collaborating with TK Entertainment?"

-Yes, Mr. Jung. I was actually about to call you about that.

"So it is true. What's going on?"

-I think my father is the one pushing it. My brother and I are on our way over to talk to him now.

In that case, I needed to hear the explanation myself. I wanted to know why Jinseong had made this decision.

"Would it be all right if I came with you?"

-Sure. We'll wait for you.

The moment I got her permission, I headed straight for Jinseong Inc.